


Color

by ms_superwhoavengelockgermany06



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, M/M, Nail Polish, Poor Bitty, Poor Dex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-27
Updated: 2016-03-27
Packaged: 2018-05-29 09:27:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6369280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ms_superwhoavengelockgermany06/pseuds/ms_superwhoavengelockgermany06
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes, it takes someone to inspire you be brave. Other times, you inspire yourself. Most times, it's a mixture of the two.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Color

Bitty sang along with Taylor Swift under his breath as he swept the brush across his toenail, painting it a bright shade of yellow. He hadn’t been sure about the color before, but now he was in love. It reminded him of Mama Bittle. Gently, Bitty blew on his nails to help them dry, excited thoughts running through his mind. Daisies would look great with this color. Maybe he could use his nail pens to paint one on each of his big toes.

“Hey, Bittle, have you seen Shitty?” Jack asked, peeking into Bitty’s room. 

Bitty jumped, hurriedly trying to hide all of his polish. His cheeks heated up in humiliation. He should have kept the door to his room closed. Good Lord, what if Jack had seen all his supplies? The captain was probably disgusted with him. If he hadn’t been already, that is. 

“Are you okay, Bittle?” Jack asked, his eyebrows furrowing. 

“Oh, I’m just fine. I haven’t seen Shitty. Sorry.” Bitty said. 

Jack shrugged. “It’s okay. I’ll leave you alone to do whatever you were doing.” 

Bitty smiled tightly until Jack left, releasing a sigh of relief. He picked up the little vial of yellow nail polish and screwed on the cap before hiding it beneath his bed with the other bottles. No longer was he excited to draw daisies on his toes or send pictures of his cheerfully yellow nails to his mom to show her that he was thinking of her. Pulling out a bottle of alcohol and a bag of cotton balls, Bitty began rubbing the color from his toenails. It had been a stupid idea. Bitty had been stupid to even think that this was okay. Boys don’t paint their nails, as Coach always said. However, something within Bitty ached at the loss of color, the loss of expression. It was as if he were dampening his own spirit. 

****

The damn thing was an impulse buy. Bitty had been picking up a few things at the supermarket and he had momentarily lost his willpower and wandered into the cosmetics aisle. The shade was a perfect match to Samwell red and all Bitty could think about was how amazing it would be to paint his nails red and white on game days. Bitty picked up the bottle. He turned it over in his hands. Then he hid it in the basket beneath a bag of apples and scurried to the checkout. 

****

“Holy shit, Bits, this is a goddamn rainbow. Where did you get all of these?” Lardo asked, sifting through the box of nail polish in awe.

“Here and there. You can take whatever you want, honey. Just bring it back when you’re finished.” Bitty said softly. 

Lardo looked up, her smile faltering when he saw Bitty’s miserable expression. How on earth could Bitty be upset right now? They could be having a mani-pedi party! She would bet money that Bitty was a master at painting nails. He was the one that owned a box with every color polish imaginable, after all. 

“Bro, I can’t even decide. Should I go periwinkle or cotton candy pink? Maybe I should do a darker shade. Midnight blue?” Lardo asked. 

Bitty blushed. “Oh, I’m no good at that sort of stuff. I mostly just have those to touch up shoes and stuff like that.” 

“But _bro._ You own so much! You’ve never painted your nails? Not once? That’s fucking blasphemy! You sit your cute little ass down and let Auntie Lardo make you up.” 

Bitty bit his lip. “No.” 

“Why? Come on, it’ll be fun. We’ll do them in team colors! You love shit like that.” 

Lardo grabbed Bitty’s hand, grinning from ear to ear. Bitty pulled his hand away as if he had been burned. He couldn’t. He couldn’t let this happen. He couldn’t bear to see the disappointment on the team’s face - on _Jack’s_ face - if they saw his nails all gussied up. He couldn’t give them one more reason to think that he wasn’t capable of playing hockey. Lardo put a hand on his shoulder. 

“Bitty, if this is what you like, that’s okay. I’m not surprised; you’re the most colorful person I know. This is just one more way for you to show off how bright you are.” Lardo said gently. 

“I just can’t. Please, Lardo, I can’t. I’m sorry.” Bitty sobbed, allowing her to wrap him in a hug. 

****

Bitty’s hand shakes as he holds up the bottle of Shimmering Seafoam Green nail paint. He wants to put it on his fingers so badly. It matches his shorts. With hesitation, he puts in back in the box and berates himself for even considering it. 

****

Shitty is the first guy on the team to find Bitty’s collection. He doesn’t even make up an excuse as to why he had been digging around under Bitty’s bed. Bitty just finds him sitting on the bed examining the bottles giddily. Luckily, he’s clothed. Shitty holds up a bottle of Rocking Raspberry and points to the spot next to him on the bed. Bitty sits and takes the bottle. He paints Shitty’s nails - it was the least he could do after everything Shitty had done for him - and a bit of the weight that had settled on his chest lifted. Shitty looked so pleased with Bitty’s work; he had immediately showed it to everyone in the Haus, conveniently leaving out Bitty’s involvement. 

****

“Bitty! Bitty! You have to help me!” Chowder cried, grabbing the blonde’s hand and dragging him up the stairs.

“Whoa, darlin’, what’s going on?” Bitty asked with a laugh. 

Chowder waited until he had them both locked in Bitty’s room to speak. 

“I need you to teach me how to paint.” Chowder said. 

“Chowder, that’s really more Lardo’s speed. She’s an art major, after all.” Bitty said. 

“Oh! Not that kind of painting, I meant, you know, nail painting. Shitty told me that you did his and they looked so ‘swawesome and -” 

Bitty tunes out of Chowder’s monologue, betrayal gripping his heart. Shitty had said he wouldn’t tell. He _promised._ Who else knew that Bitty was a freak who liked to paint his nails? Did Jack know? Goddamn it, why would Shitty do this to him? 

“It’s just that Dex - well, I found a bottle of this pretty, sparkly green nail polish in his drawers and I wanted to learn how to do it so I could paint Dex’s.” Chowder babbles. 

“Honey, that is so sweet, but maybe Dex didn’t want you to find that. You have to give him time to come to terms with all of this himself.” Bitty said. 

“Maybe. But can you still paint mine? I really want Sharks colors. They have a super important game this week and I want to give my full support.” 

Chowder’s eyes were wide with hope, a smile plastered on his face. How could Bitty say no to that? He kneeled down and grabbed the box from under his bed and set it in front of Chowder, who literally squealed out if excitement. It made Bitty feel a little better. Chowder spent ten minutes trying to find the right shade of blue for his team and yelled in triumph when he found it. 

“You have the perfect blue! Dude, this is ‘swawesome! You have every color ever made. What color is your favorite? I bet it’s purple. Are your toes painted? That’s a dumb question, they probably are.” Chowder said. 

“They’re not, Chowder. I don’t paint my nails. You can’t tell anyone about this. Please.” Bitty pleaded. 

Chowder’s smile dimmed. “Are you like Dex? Dex gets embarrassed about this kind of stuff, too.” 

“Chowder, please, just let me paint your nails and you can go.” 

“It’s okay to be scared.” 

“Stop.” 

“Sorry.” 

Bitty’s heart ached at the worry on Chowder’s face. He hugged the boy so he knew there were no hard feelings between them before working on decorating Chowder’s nails. He even drew sharks on each nail and used small rhinestones for their eyes. The smile on Chowder’s face was completely worth it. Bitty wondered if he’d ever be that happy himself. 

****

Bitty can’t even believe that Kent Parson is in his room. Not because he thinks Kent is some kind of blonde Adonis - he prefers his men dark haired and Canadian, thank you very much - but because he had been fairly certain that Kent hated him. He was part of the reason Jack had decided to play for the Falconers and not the Aces. It made Bitty wonder why Kent was here at all; the whole team had played a part in Jack’s decision.

“Well, Mr. Parson, care to explain why you are in my room when you could be playing beer pong downstairs?” Bitty asked. 

“A drunk little birdie told me that you are, and I quote, “a fucking genius with nails.” I need a manicure. Girls like a well groomed guy.” Kent said smoothly. 

“Who told you?” 

“Shitty. So, can you do it or not? I need them done in Aces colors. And don’t even tell me that Shitty is full of it, because I saw his and they kick ass.” 

Bitty sighed. Maybe he was a little buzzed and that’s why he agreed to do it. After all, it wasn’t everyday that a star NHL player asked him to paint their nails. Kent was silent as Bitty worked, watching as he smoothly applied each coat of paint and drew small clubs and diamonds on each nail. The kid was actually good at this. 

Once Bitty finished, Kent fanned out his fingers to examine them. They looked great. His PR team was going to have a bitch fit. They were perfect. 

“Thanks, man.” Kent said. 

“No problem. Let’s keep it our secret, please.” Bitty said. 

“Whatever.” 

Bitty looked down at the bottles as Kent strutted out of his room and back out to the party. One day, he would be brave enough to show his spirit. 

****

Dex rapped his knuckles softly against the door to Bitty’s room, prompting the blonde to shout ‘come in’ as he lowered the music coming from his radio. He stepped into the room hesitantly. He had never been in Bitty’s room before: it was nice. Posters of Beyoncé, Captain America, and Michelle Kwan decorated the wall, along with pictures and other little tokens of whatever made Bitty, well, Bitty. A stack of cookbooks occupied one side of his desk. Different jars of creams and makeup lined the top of his chest of drawers. The room radiated acceptance. It made Dex feel safe. Bitty smiled.

“Hey, Dex! What can I do for you?” Bitty asked. 

Dex glanced at the bed and Bitty nodded. The red haired defense man sat down, uncurling his fist to reveal a vial of green nail polish. Bitty blinked. It had to be the bottle Chowder had been talking about. Bitty turned his music off completely and sat beside Dex. 

“Chowder told me.” Dex mumbled. 

“Told you what?” Bitty choked out. 

“That you’re scared, too.” 

Bitty whimpered involuntarily as Dex looked at him with misty eyes. He had never seen Dex get emotional, but he remembers. He remembers being where Dex is. He remembers hating himself for who he is, for things he can’t help. The worst part is that he still has those feelings. 

Bitty is scared. It is the worst feeling, as if he is being trapped, the life being choked out of him by all the things he could do, all the things he could be, but is too afraid to try. That has to be how Dex felt. 

“Maybe we can talk about it?” Dex suggested. 

“If it’s too uncomfortable, we don’t have to.” Bitty said. 

“I think it will be uncomfortable for us both, but I promised Chowder. And Nursey.” 

“Okay. Why don’t you start?” 

Dex began wringing his hands anxiously. How did one start such a conversation? ‘I like makeup and being pretty but I’m terrified of people knowing.’ Yeah, that sounded nice and heartfelt. 

“I’m so used to having to be straight.” Dex admitted. 

“I understand.” Bitty said. 

“I just - I hate it. People who see me getting coffee with Chowder always say that I don’t look gay. They never say it to Chowder or Nursey. I hate the way some people look at me like they know I am. My parents always did it. I tried so hard to show them I wasn’t,” Dex clenched his fists, “Then I had to go and like fucking nail polish and eyeshadow and shit and I was so stupid and Chowder and Nursey found out.” 

“Chowder came to me when he found out. He wanted to learn how to paint nails so he could paint yours. He loves you, Dex.” 

“Still hard to actually wear it. You get it, right?” 

Bitty nodded. “I do. I’m terrified to wear it in front of the guys. It feels like I’m not enough. I’m not tough or manly. I don’t have muscles. The last thing I want is for them to think I’m weak. Dainty.” 

“Exactly. But then I see Shitty and Chowder with their colorful nails and I feel so jealous. No one gives them any shit for it. I just want to be that brave, too.” 

“Me, too. Maybe - Maybe we can be brave together.” 

“How?” 

“We’ll paint them together.” 

Dex blushed. Perhaps Bitty was onto something. He looked down at his vial of polish, then back to Bitty. He could do this. It would make Chowder and Nursey so happy. 

“Let’s do it. Can I - Can I paint yours first?” Dex asked. 

Bitty nodded silently and pulled out his box of nail colors. He pulled out a bottle of red and a bottle of white. Dex picked up the vial of red and untwisted the cap, grabbing Bitty’s hand and resting it on his knee. No longer were they uncomfortable. They were going to be okay. 

****

Dex and Bitty took a selfie with their freshly painted nails. It went on Instagram. For the first time in a long time, Bitty felt happy. Life was finally returning to color. 

****

It took Bitty four months to find a shade of blue that matched Jack’s eyes. When he finally found it, he put the bottle on his nightstand, willing himself to not open it. It was to be saved for graduation. Jack would finally know how he felt and Bitty would tell him that he picked the color specially for him. Waiting was torture, but Bitty didn’t care. 

****

Jack had promised to text him. And he did. Bitty looked down at his ice blue nails, snapped a picture of them, and sent them to Jack. The message read: _it took me forever, but I found a blue that matches your eyes, Mr. Zimmermann._ Jack texted him a smiley face. It wasn’t until later that Bitty got a real response.

_I think you should paint them more often. Maybe blue and gold some time._

****

Jack scanned the crowd for Bitty, his heart pounding wildly. The Falconers had just won their first game of the season with Jack scoring the winning goal. He had just won his first game as an official NHL player. The only thing that could make this moment better was sharing it with Bitty. The shorter boy had promised to meet him in the locker room hallway. With a sigh, Jack hefted his bag over his shoulder. Maybe Bitty forgot.

As he made his way down the hallway, the crowd of people began to disperse and Jack saw him. Bitty, in a jersey with ‘ZIMMERMANN’ on the back and those tight jeans that drove Jack crazy and eye black beneath his eyes. He was still perfectly tanned from his summer in Georgia, looking like something out of every fantasy Jack had ever allowed himself to have. 

“Jack! Oh my God, y’all were amazing! _You_ were amazing.” Bitty said, his eyes shining. 

Jack looked around. There was no one left in the hallway. No one to see him sweep Bitty up and kiss him. So, that’s just what Jack did. He felt Bitty smile against his mouth. 

“Look.” Bitty said softly. 

He splayed his fingers out against Jack’s chest. His nails were painted in alternating blue and gold with ‘FALCONERS!’ spelled out across them. Jack smiled. He had never know that one person could make him so happy. 

“I love you, Eric.” Jack whispered. 

“I love you, too, Jack.” Bitty replied. 

The two shared another kiss and it was official. The world was finally in color. Bitty could breathe again.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, y'all! I want to thank you for reading this, especially since it's a bit rushed. There was a personal inspiration for this fic. I am transgendered, female to male, and the other day, I painted my nails for the first time in almost six years. I was terrified, because I was afraid it would make people question my masculinity. So, I wrote this to help myself to brave enough to be myself, in a sense. I hope you all enjoyed this story and I hope you all have the courage to be yourselves. I believe in you and I want you to believe in yourselves. Y'all can do absolutely anything.


End file.
